Marcos: No overkill in hunt for Quiboloy

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PRESIDENT Marcos Jr. yesterday defended there is no overkill in the PNP’s manhunt for fugitive pastor Apollo Quiboloy and the ongoing search of the 30-hectare Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) compound in Davao City.

The President likewise said no human rights were violated in the police’s continuing effort to serve warrants of arrest against Quiboloy and five KOJC members who are facing charges of child abuse and human trafficking before Davao and Pasig city courts.

In a chance interview on the sidelines of the oath taking of several media groups in Malacañang, Marcos said the deployment of thousands of policemen was necessary to ensure the peace, safety and security in the area.

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“The reason we did this was so that we can contain the peace. The only way to maintain the peace is to make sure that the area is safe and is secure. And considering that this is a 30-hectare compound, kailangan mo talaga ng maraming tao. Hindi mo powedeng gawin ito ng isang dosenang pulis (The reason we did this was so that we can contain the peace.

The only way to maintain the peace is to make sure that the area is safe and is secure. And considering that this is a 30-hectare compound, you really need a lot of people. You cannot do this with just a dozen police),” he said.

Former President Rodrigo Duterte and members of the religious group have called the police operation an overkill, noting the presence of more than 2,000 cops scour every inch of the compound to find Quiboloy and his co-accused.

The PNP search started last Saturday and continued until yesterday.

Vice President Sara Duterte has also slammed what she said was “gross police abuses” related to the ongoing search, citing alleged injuries to the pastor’s supporters and the death of one member.

But Marcos said that contrary to claims of KOJC followers, the police were unarmed and do not have with them tear gas or guns.

“So anong human rights violation? Marami lang (sila). (So, what human rights violation are they talking about? There are just many police),” the President said.

Marcos said he understands the disagreement and even anger felt by KOJC members with the government, but he emphasized that the police are just doing their job of enforcing the warrant of arrest against Quiboloy.

He said he is puzzled why the religious leader is involving his followers in his legal predicament.

“They just believe, they are looking for an answer, a value system and they think they have found it with Quiboloy. But they did not sign up to be in the frontline of this kind of thing that’s happening now, that they’ll protect him from arrest even when he has cases filed against him not only here in the Philippines but also in the US,” he said.

Quiboloy, who founded the KOJC, was indicted in the US for labor trafficking scheme and has been accused by some members of sexual abuse and exploitation, allegations which are being investigated by the Senate.

The pastor has denied the allegations and has refused to cooperate in the Senate probe.

TPO

The Davao City Regional Trial Court yesterday ordered the PNP to remove all barricades and barriers placed on the entry points of the KOJC compound where authorities are on their third day of search for Quiboloy and his co-accused.

The three-page temporary protection order issued by Davao City RTC Branch 15 Presiding Judge Mario Duaves was in response to a petition filed last July 1 by the KOJC represented by Pastor Marlon Acobo and Jose Maria College Foundation Inc. against Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos and the PNP alleging that their rights to life, liberty and security have been violated or were being threatened of being violated by the respondents.

Upon receipt of the petition, RTC Executive Judge Retrina Fuentes found no urgent necessity for the issuance of the writ and ordered the raffling of the case among the regular court, landing on the sala of Duaves.

In his order, Duaves said the court is aware that thousands of armed policemen entered the KOJC compound along Sasa Highway on August 24 in search for Quiboloy and his cohorts.

The court said the incident is affecting the right to life, liberty and safety of the petitioners.

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“The restrictions and control imposed by the PNP XI over and within the compound of the KOJC and JMCFI noticeably trampled not only the property rights of the petitioners, its officers and members but also the exercise of their religious freedom and academic rights, which are guaranteed by the Constitution,” the court order read.

“Hence, this Court under the current situation, sees the urgency to direct the PNP XI to immediately cease and desist from any act or omission that threatens the life, liberty, or security as well as properties of the petitioners,” it added.

The court then ordered the PNP to “remove all forms of barricades, barriers and blockade” that bar access to and from the said compound that, it said, hinders the petitioners’ religious, academic and proprietary rights within and surrounding the premises.

Abalos said the PNP will follow the court’s order and remove the barricades, barriers and blockades but maintained that “we will continue our search for Quiboloy.”

“Our search will continue. We are not going to stop searching for Pastor Quiboloy. We are not going to leave (the area) but for the meantime, we are going to seek clarification about the court order to remove the barricades and (cease actions) that threatens the life, liberty, etc,” he said.

He pointed out that the order mandated the PNP to “immediately cease and desist from any act or omission that threatens the life, liberty, or security as well as the properties of the petitioners.”

But, the DILG chief stressed, “the police operations do not pose a threat to life, liberty or security of KOJC members.”

“Rather, these are only being done pursuant to the lawful enforcement of the warrants of arrest from the Pasig RTC Branch 159 and Davao City RTC Branch 12,” Abalos said.

“In any case, it is very clear that there is no express directive from Davao City RTC Branch 15 ordering the PNP to vacate KOJC premises or to stop the service of the warrants of arrest,” he added.

UNDERGROUND FACILITY

The PNP yesterday discounted the use of heavy equipment to access the underground facility where Quiboloy and his co-accused are believed to be hiding.

Maj. Catherine Dela Rey, spokesperson of the Davao police regional office, belied the claim of Quiboloy’s supporters that the PNP has deployed jack hammers to aid in the continuing search of the pastor.

“That is not true. Do not believe the fake news (they are spreading). We are not using jack hammers,” said Dela Rey, adding: “We are not going to use those, we are not going to destroy any property inside the KOJC compound.”

She said: “As of now, we are focused on finding the entrance of the underground facility inside the KOJC compound. That is our concentratio n because our radar device detected sign of life underground.”

Police officials earlier said ground-penetrating radars detected heartbeats from people from a bunker, which they said could be that of Quiboloy and his companions.

PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said the PNP has informants from the KOJC who confirmed that Quiboloy is inside the compound.

“This is precisely the reason why we are not halting the search. The information given to us is they are really inside the secret bunker and when we used the ground-penetrating radar, we detected (heartbeats),” said Fajardo.

“We detected the heartbeats using this particular radar intended to detect human life,” she said.

Likewise, Fajardo said the PNP has received information that some KOJC members have been inflicting wounds on themselves and then make it appear that these were inflicted by police.

She said they have videos to prove the information but said they would not make these public because this may compromise the identity of the person who provided the proof.

“Their intention is to make it appear these injuries were caused by policemen… They are claiming they were harassed, they were hit and injured by our policemen,” said Fajardo.

Dela Rey said the police have already completed the search of some of the 40 structures inside the compound but “there are still some areas which are yet to be searched.”

SURRENDER

Ozamis Archbishop Martin Jumoad yesterday joined the snowballing calls for Quiboloy to stop hiding and just surrender to authorities to face the charges filed against him.

In a radio interview, Jumoad asked the religious leader to surrender as soon as possible to prevent more violence between the police and his followers.

“Pastor Quiboloy must surrender now for the sake of his people and to stop more loss of lives and damages of property,” said Jumoad.

Being a religious leader, he said Quiboloy should set a good example to his followers. “The rule of law must prevail and must be respected and obeyed,” he stressed.

He said the KOJC leader shouldn’t be afraid to surrender if he believes in his innocence. — With Ashzel Hachero, Victor Reyes and Gerard Naval

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